http://www.concordia-park.com/images/park.jpg

Macau government's commitment to stimulate investment and to enhance industrial diversification in 1993 highlighted the fact that it was high time to develop an Industrial Park and to utilize Concordia Reclaimed Zone.

The total area of reclaimed land from the sea is 337,220m2. Concordia Industrial Park takes up 34% of the area, i.e., 117,272m2 and SPIC (Concordia Industrial Park, Ltd.) is the company set up to manage the Industrial Park.

LOCATION
Concordia Industrial Park is located close to Macau International Airport and Ka-Ho Container Port (5/10 minutes) and no more than 20 minutes to the border with mainland China.

Macau lies on the western shore of the Pearl River Delta and is one apex of an economic triangle formed with Hong Kong and Guangzhou.

In order to attract investment and to promote industrial diversification, the Macao Government decided to develop an industrial park on Concordia Reclaimed Zone in 1993.

Of the total reclaimed area of 337,000 m2, Concordia Industrial Park takes up 160,000 m2. Concordia Industrial Park Co. Ltd. was then set up to manage the Industrial Park.

After the handover of Macao to China, the Government of Macao SAR proposed to develop a Cross Border Industrial Zone with Zhuhai so as to build on the advantages and attractiveness of Zhuhai and Macao, to enhance industrial diversification and to create more employment opportunities. On 5th December, 2003, the Central Government approved the establishment of Zhuhai-Macao Cross Border Industrial Zone. Zhuhai Park has an area of 290,000m2 while Macao Park, developed on reclaimed land at Ilha Verde, has an area of 110,000 m2.

In order to further utilize the existing resources, the Government of Macao SAR restructured Concordia Industrial Park Co. Ltd. to Macao Industrial Parks Development Co. Ltd. in May 2004. The mission of the company is to develop and manage land reserved for industrial development and its related activities within the Macao SAR, including the management and development of Concordia Industrial Park, Macao Park of Zhuhai-Macao Cross Border Industrial Zone and other industrial parks.

Land reclamation for Macao Park of Zhuhai-Macao Cross Border Industrial Zone started in May 2004 and will be completed in the 1st quarter of 2005.

The Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute announced on Thursday that it has received 67 applications for investing in the Macao part of the Macao-Zhuhai Cross-Border Industrial Park.

Macao and Zhuhai launched the first joint investment promotion for China's first cross-border industrial park on June 29.

president of the institute Lee Peng Hong said that potential investors from Macao, Hong Kong, China's mainland and Taiwan are interested in investing brand garment, food, drug and electronic device manufacturing as well as environmentally-friendly industry in the park.

The park, which sits on a reclaimed plot encompassing 290,000 square meters in Zhuhai and 110,000 square meters in Macao, takes advantages of favorable policies in both the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) and the Special Economic Region of Zhuhai City in south China's Guangdong Province. It is considered a good experiment in China's regional economic cooperation under two different economic systems.

The Secretariat of Economics and Finance of the Macao SAR government will see to the setting up of a special appraisal panel to select projects to enter the industrial park in the next two months. Selected investors are expected to kick off earth work of their plants in the park in March next year at the earliest.

Protected by China's "one country, two systems" principle, Macao has retained its free market economic system and independent status in the World Trade Organization after its return to the motherland in 1999. Macao's trade with its neighboring city of Zhuhai is conducted under separate customs jurisdictions.

Construction of the park began in March. The park is expected to help end worries about Macao's wavering advantage on textile exports because of the removal of global export quota on textile products in 2005, and even broaden its market scope by making full use of favorable policies brought by the Mainland/Macao Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) in effect in January this year.

The first group of firms were selected to enter the Macao part of the Zhuhai-Macao Cross-Border Industrial Park, a senior economic official announced here Tuesday.

Francis Tam Pak Yuen, secretary for economy and finance said that a judging panel has selected 23 firms from 68 entries of applications, which will kick off earthworks in the park by the end of this month. "The selection was made for the best interest of the development of Macao's economy," he said.

The establishment of the park approved by China's State Councilin December 2003 set a new example of cooperation between China's mainland and one of its two special administrative regions (SAR).

For the Macao SAR, it hopes that the industrial park would not only help it overcome its geographic limitations but also develop more diversified industries.

The 23 firms, 71 percent from Macao and 18 percent from Hong Kong and 3 percent from North America, are specialized in the production of textile, garment, drug, electric devices, gaming tools, food and environmental production industries. Among them, seven companies will build their own workshops in the park occupying a total area of 29,200 square meters, and 16 firms will rent government-built workshops occupying an area of 47,900 squaremeters, according to Tam.

He said that all earthwork are scheduled for completion before the end of March.

According to the project planning submitted by the firms, they will create 6,400 job vacancies and invest 800 million patacas (100 million US dollars) in the park.

The 400,000-square meters park built on a plot of reclaimed seashore has been designed to be managed as a bonded zone taking advantages of cheap labors in the mainland and Macao's facilitatedtrade access to the mainland as well as the markets in America andEurope.

As the economic integration in the Pan-Pearl River Delta deepens, more cases of cross-border cooperation between the mainland and the SARs will follow suit. One of such examples is the development of the Hengqin Island, the largest among over 100 islands in Zhuhai. A detailed blueprint for the exploration of theisland will come out in the first half year, according to a seniorGuangdong official earlier this year.

Concordia Industrial Park is located in Coloane, just 15 minutes' drive away from Macau. The total area of the Industrial Park is around 165,000 m2. The Park is near Macau International Airport and Ka-Ho Container Port and it takes only five to six minutes to reach China by car from the Park through Lotus Bridge. While the Water Treatment Plant is next to the Park, Macau Electric Company has also built a substation in the Park in response to the increasing demand for electricity from our tenants.

Industrial land at very competitive prices is available to investors for constructing their factories to match the features of their projects. Our tenants are subject to only two kinds of payments: infrastructure development fee and annual rent.

In order to attract investment and to promote industrial diversification, the Macao Government decided to develop an industrial park on Concordia Reclaimed Zone in 1993.

Of the total reclaimed area of 337,000 m2, Concordia Industrial Park takes up 160,000 m2. Concordia Industrial Park Co. Ltd. was then set up to manage the Industrial Park.

After the handover of Macao to China, the Government of Macao SAR proposed to develop a Cross Border Industrial Zone with Zhuhai so as to build on the advantages and attractiveness of Zhuhai and Macao, to enhance industrial diversification and to create more employment opportunities. On 5th December, 2003, the Central Government approved the establishment of Zhuhai-Macao Cross Border Industrial Zone. Zhuhai Park has an area of 290,000m2 while Macao Park, developed on reclaimed land at Ilha Verde, has an area of 110,000 m2.

In order to further utilize the existing resources, the Government of Macao SAR restructured Concordia Industrial Park Co. Ltd. to Macao Industrial Parks Development Co. Ltd. in May 2004. The mission of the company is to develop and manage land reserved for industrial development and its related activities within the Macao SAR, including the management and development of Concordia Industrial Park, Macao Park of Zhuhai-Macao Cross Border Industrial Zone and other industrial parks.

Land reclamation for Macao Park of Zhuhai-Macao Cross Border Industrial Zone started in May 2004 and will be completed in the 1st quarter of 2005.